Flameheart
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Tsunayoshi is "quirkless". At least that's what everyone believes. But quirkless doesn't mean powerless, and he refuses to become a victim. So you can imagine his surprise learning that All Might, the number one hero, is his grandfather! Tsuna seizes upon a chance to be something more than just "No Good Tsuna". There's just one thing though... Tsuna isn't quirkless at all.
1. Chapter 1

"_Isn't that the Sawada boy?"_

"_His poor mother...giving birth to a son like that."_

"_What an embarassment, being quirkless!"_

Quirks. One day, a child was born with a unique gift...it was the sign of things to come, as soon children were being born with special unique powers that would be known as "quirks". Nearly every child had them these days, though a small number of the population was "quirkless".

According to the popular opinion of Namimori, Tsunayoshi Sawada was born "quirkless", and thus was an even bigger embarrassment to his family.

Even his own mother had fallen prey to such thinking, through no real fault of her own. Then again, she had long since given up on her son before he fully entered middle school.

Tsuna tuned them out with his music. It wasn't like _he_ cared about what they thought.

He dodged the Disciplinary Committee...and more importantly their leader Hibari Kyouya.

It had taken some doing to figure out the range of Hibari's quirk, which gave him supernatural awareness of his "territory", but once he did it made things so much easier.

Or perhaps it was a Hibari thing where they had unlimited ability to find people within an area they had claimed.

Either way, Tsuna didn't particularly care.

Once out of the 'territory range' of the terrifying Skylark who went after those who broke the rules...like skipping class... Tsuna broke out into a run.

It had taken him two years to learn how to run without tripping over nothing.

It had taken him even longer to develop a way to survive even without access to his quirk.

Contrary to popular belief, Tsuna was not actually "quirkless".

For some inane reason, his sperm donor decided to seal his quirk away without even consulting anyone on the matter. It wasn't like quirks were _rare_ after all... Tsuna had three kids in his class who had odd 'extras' like tails or animal ears. Hell, his own _mother_ had a quirk that allowed her to keep the house clean without having to bring out any cleaning supplies!

So the fact Iemitsu decided to seal his quirk away before it had a chance to fully manifest and develop was extremely suspicious.

Tsuna still couldn't figure out how or _why_ Iemitsu had asked the old man to seal his quirk away. The only reason he knew his father was responsible was because the trauma of it left an imprint in his subconscious and the memory had merely needed a nudge to come back.

He simply couldn't understand their thought process at all, unless they had sensed something about his quirk and felt threatened by it...like he was a potential rival or something equally ridiculous.

Despite their best attempts, they couldn't fully suppress his quirk. However thanks to their actions, he was forced to develop a secondary personality that managed to keep the seal from ruining his life even more than it already had.

He called that other voice in his head Homura.

Tsuna almost hated the current society. Everyone thought that quirks were everything, and those without them were "useless" or to be pitied. Even his own mother had given up on him because of it.

Which was why he retaliated the only way he knew how. After reading so much manga, the answer became painfully obvious to him.

The first thing he did was work on his coordination. It took him two long, painful years to determine that whatever kept his quirk from appearing had set warning signs. Homura was a huge help there...he could 'sense' when the seal or whatever was blocking his powers was about to act up and screw him over.

Once he began to pick up on when the block would act up, training became much easier. He was still considered "pathetic", but at least he wasn't clumsy anymore.

The next step was increasing his strength... he took to rock climbing on a cliff that was just outside the city limits and therefor not part of Hibari's territory...that was both painful and very rewarding, as he developed his new favorite hobby. It didn't take much for good old fashioned training to take effect.

He was in better shape than half the kids in his school, baring a few oddballs like Hibari or Sasegawa-sempai.

Once he was at a point he felt comfortable with, he looked into some martial arts training. Long before quirks became a thing, people would defend themselves with basic hand-to-hand combat. No weapons involved.

Guns were difficult to come by in Japan, not to mention socially frowned upon. For someone like him, just buying one would raise a lot of alarms in the heads of authorities...especially Hibari.

Swords were a no go as well. Never mind that it took years of training, the simple fact was that most blades tended to be custom made for specific heroes only and the rest were dull showpieces. And again, buying a weapon would raise too many flags considering he was constantly bullied.

The simple fact was that any sort of weapon was going to raise flags in the minds of the authorities and the Pro-Heroes, never mind Hibari.

Martial arts was literally his only option. Fortunately there were plenty of videos to be found so he didn't have to suffer through the mockery of a real class. It meant he had to take his time and figure out what he was doing wrong, but it was better than nothing.

Besides, no one would think twice about him learning martial arts for self-defense purposes.

He was "quirkless" after all, and villains didn't often limit themselves to just the Pro Heroes when they were up to no good.

Tsuna resigned himself to yet another weekend of rock climbing, martial arts training, and generally avoiding humanity. It wasn't like he had much else to do, since his middle school years were coming to a close and he had no real goal in life beyond finding the two who had messed with his quirk to the point it was unable to come out and making their life hell.

And yes, that was probably _villain-_like thoughts, but to be honest he couldn't bring himself to give a damn. They deserved everything they got for ruining his childhood with their idiocy and delusions of adequacy.

He really wished something would happen. Something that would allow him to transcend his own personal hell.

He just didn't expect to get _family_ out of the deal.

* * *

Dead silence. That was the only way to describe the scene.

It was another ordinary day of heroes and villains. Random bad guy shows up, causing a stir and the civilians wait for a Pro Hero to arrive and deal with the issue so that they could continue on their peaceful day like normal, save for an interesting story to tell their families later.

The villain's quirk wasn't all that impressive, really. Just some minor strength amplification, but his ability to use it was below acceptable limits for the hero career path. Never mind the fact that the guy's personality left much to be desired.

It was pretty clear he wasn't from Namimori, or Hibari would have put the man in his place long before he became a public nuisance.

Hibari was being his usual violent self, but was currently out dealing with some new delinquents in the area and thus unavailable to deal with the villain disrupting _his_ town.

Tsunayoshi Sawada, the "quirkless disaster" had been passing by minding his own business with his earbuds in, ignoring the entire thing when it happened.

The villain spotted him, and decided the oblivious fourteen year old was the perfect hostage for when the Pro Heroes finally got off their ass and made it to the scene. They were only ten minutes away, after all.

Except that didn't happen. The moment his hand touched Tsuna's shoulder, the teen reacted in a manner no one expected.

He grabbed the hand, then did a basic aikido throw before punching the man so hard in the gut that he was left wheezing. Then, for good measure, Tsuna began to kick him when he was down right in the balls.

Tsuna looked at the villain with a positively scathing expression.

"Power means nothing if you don't bother to learn how to use it correctly. And I'd love to see how you explain to your friends how a quirkless civilian kicked your ass long before the heroes even arrived," he spat.

Tsuna put his headphones back on and continued heading to his usual training spot, unaware of the man watching him from the roofs.

All Might would have done something, except the teen had beaten the villain long before he would have reached him.

A quirkless civilian had beaten a villain? It was unheard of!

However he wasn't there to scout out potential talent...even if he _was_ looking for a successor to his quirk.

No, the entire reason he was in the city at all was the recent news he received after looking up an old girlfriend from his first days as a proper Hero.

Learning she had been pregnant when she broke up with him had come as a shock, but none more so than the fact she was smart enough to hide the knowledge he had a daughter in the wake of how many enemies he made as he rose to the number one spot. He could hardly blame her for hiding their child from the press, because any number of villains would have happily made an example of her.

He looked at the address his ex had given him. Perhaps it would be best to ask a local where the neighborhood was.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

Tsuna took one look at the odd scarecrow of a man in his house, and dismissed him. He only partially acknowledged the fact he was home, before heading back up to his room to study.

Today had been mentally exhausting, in more ways than one. He just knew tomorrow would be worse.

"Tsu-kun! Come down and meet your grandfather!" called his mother cheerfully.

Wait, what?

Tsuna took off his headphones. He could have sworn his mother had said that his _grandfather_ was here. A man he had never met in his life, and who his grandmother never talked about outside of the fact he was one of the more famous Pro Heroes, which was why she never gave out his name.

He walked downstairs, a dubious expression on his face.

"I thought Grandma said that she couldn't tell her ex boyfriend about us because it was too dangerous?"

"More like I had no reason to rekindle things with an ex, since it only put her at risk. Besides, the fan girls would have eaten her alive back then," corrected the odd scarecrow. "Aren't you the one who took out the villain earlier?"

Tsuna blanched.

"I really don't want the Pro Heroes bothering me. Besides, the second they find out I was registered quirkless they'll just get on my case for doing something reckless," he replied quickly.

"From what I saw, I doubt it. You were minding your own business when he went after you specifically. Clearest cut case of self-defense I've seen in a while. Not to sure about the kicking him when he was down part though."

"Are you kidding? I had no idea what his quirk was, and considering he was open to a cheap shot I saw no reason why I shouldn't insure he left me alone long enough for the heroes to arrive. Better to put him in the sort of pain all men fear and avoid any further trouble to myself than worry how others will think of me," replied Tsuna incredulous.

To his surprise, the odd man started chuckling.

"Well said. Well said indeed. How did you perform that throw anyway?"

"You can find any number of martial arts videos online. At least that way I didn't have to suffer my classmates mocking me about not having a quirk while I was trying to get stronger," deadpanned Tsuna. "Aikido is very useful, especially for someone as scrawny as me."

Tsuna got the distinct impression his mystery Grandfather actually approved of that. Even if he had absolutely no idea which hero his grandfather was.

* * *

Tsuna...couldn't help but stare when he found out his grandfather was in fact the number one Hero, All Might. Suddenly the knowledge his grandmother kept their existence a secret from his grandfather made far too much sense.

It was no secret that All Might was both powerful...and had a great deal of enemies who would happily use his family against him if they found out he had children. Much less a 'quirkless' grandson.

He still didn't get why his grandfather insisted on seeing how he spent his free time. At least it was the weekend, so Hibari wouldn't bother tracking him down later.

"So...you do a lot of rock-climbing?"

"Not like I have any friends," snarked Tsuna. Now that he was outside the limits of Namimori, his real personality came out. Instead of a timid weakling there was a snarky, downright bitter teenager who was sick and tired of being pitied for something he had no control over. Especially when it wasn't true in the first place.

He just found it easier to ignore everyone and pretend his classmates didn't exist, regardless of how much it pissed them off. Why bother to befriend anyone when they would treat you like you were a helpless child because you were 'quirkless'?

"No one wanted to hang out with you?" he asked.

"After the neighbors quit hiding their opinion that I shamed my family for not having a quirk, I quit caring about others," admitted Tsuna. "I learned it hurt less if I spent my time trying to get stronger the old fashioned way, before quirks became common, than it was to make friends who don't actually care. Besides, most of the parents told them not to be friends with me, in case my condition was contagious or some nonsense."

"Oh? What sort of training do you do?" he asked, though there was a hint of empathy in his voice.

"Well as you can see I got into rock climbing. That helps with my agility and upper body strength. And I found several sites that teach at-home students how to fight with martial arts, since it's one of the few ways people can learn how to defend themselves without having to go through the specialized companies for heroes to get weapons. Never mind that if I bought any weapons it would have raised all sorts of red flags to the authorities and heroes because I'm quirkless and a target for a lot of bullies," said Tsuna. "Martial arts has been around for centuries and only requires the ability to memorize how to move your body."

Toshinori looked rather pleased hearing how his grandson had found a way around the flashiness of quirks to defend himself. It was more than most heroes bothered to do nowadays.

"What would you do if you had a quirk?" he asked seriously.

"Try out for Pro Hero, I guess. At the very least I would still move out of Namimori and try to find a boarding school with a decent curriculum instead of bothering with a local high school," said Tsuna speculatively. "It's rather pointless trying to plan for the future when everyone around you keeps reminding you that you don't have one."

Tsuna had learned to accept the fact that no one expected anything out of a 'quirkless' child...including his own mother. As if he were an embarrassment that one had to cover up and hide, rather than help along to a decent future. As such, he had never really bothered to think of what he would do with his life.

Toshinori looked at his grandson. A child who had been treated horribly his entire life because of bad luck, to the point even his own mother had given up hope for him. The brief conversation with his daughter had been enlightening...and not in a good way.

Tsuna was dying. Little by little, his empathy for humanity was almost eroded away because of circumstances outside his control. Worse, no one bothered to help him or encourage him to be anything other than "useless".

More than a few people were in denial that Tsuna had beaten a villain, without using a single quirk. As if it was inconcievable that a quirkless child might actually have the ability to _do_ something.

Toshinori looked at his grandson, and his mind made up on what to do almost instantly.

"How about I make you a deal, Tsuna?" he said calmly. "Why don't you come live with me for a while, and in exchange you try to get into Yuuei High?"

Tsuna blinked.

"Isn't that the most difficult to get into high school for pro heroes?" he asked dubiously.

"I didn't say you had to pass. There _are_ other paths that are available through UA besides being a Pro Hero, like support specialist and logistics. But even I can see that you're wasting away here in this small town, so a change of scenery might be good for you."

"And if I did somehow manage to pass the entrance exams?" asked Tsuna, looking interested.

The idea of attending high school had never occurred to him, but at this point he'd leap at any chance to leave Namimori early.

"Then I would make sure you had everything you needed to become a pro hero, so long as you put in the actual effort to do so. That way once you were experienced enough to stand on your own, you could proudly say you're my grandson despite the enemies after me," said Toshinori.

Tsuna thought about his options, but really what choice did he have? Namimori was slowly killing him, and eventually he would end up an empty shell that was bitter against the world in general to the point his ability to connect with others was ruined forever.

"What do I have to lose? I'll try to pass the exam, but I make no promises," said Tsuna.

"That's the spirit. Since it's going to be eleven months before the next exam begins, I'll put you through some extra training. Fair warning though... I've been selected as one of the special instructors at the school. At the very least I intend to introduce you to some of my colleagues and other pro heroes."

"Joy," said Tsuna dryly.


	2. Chapter 2

Living with his grandfather was interesting. Even if he kept going into his "All Might" form around others, because he didn't want anyone to know of his rather unfortunate handicap.

Tsuna swiftly learned to tune out praise for All Might, and focused more on his studying. He needed to find a way to hopefully pass the exams, even if his quirk was blocked. He still didn't know how to breach that particular issue with his grandfather, let alone explain Homura's presence.

Physical alterations like wings or tails were one thing, but how would one explain a secondary personality when you had been registered as quirkless your entire life? Especially since he wanted to _avoid_ being labeled crazy if he could help it.

Still, it was better than being in Namimori, and his grandfather was _very_ supportive of the fact he still trained himself even if he was 'quirkless'. For once in his life he was able to attend actual aikido lessons and someone finally showed him how to use moves that had always eluded him when he tried to pull them off on his own. In no time at all, he was put in the advanced lessons since he had the basics more or less down pat.

He was actually enjoying his life...so you could imagine his surprise when his grandfather introduced him to his new apprentice, Midoriya Izuku, or Deku for short.

Things were starting to get interesting.

* * *

_A short while later..._

"This is your grandson?!" said Izuku in shock. He had no idea All Might even had _kids_, much less a grandson.

"See, this is exactly why I don't intend to announce who I'm related to. No one would believe me unless you told them," complained Tsuna.

He had a point. Anyone who went around claiming to be All Might's grandson would face a _lot_ of scrutiny, unless it was All Might who announced it.

"Tsuna here is quirkless, just like you."

Izuku looked at the other teen, and felt a surge of hope for once. He had never met someone who was quirkless like him, and it was rather surprising that it was someone related to All Might.

"Which is why I'm going to be training both of you. Tsuna can show you _how_ to fight, while you help him with his academic studies."

Tsuna's grades were _barely_ passable by UA standards. On the other hand, his fighting ability without using a quirk was higher than any other applicant his age considering he had to work from the ground up to get that far.

Izuku was good at studying, but he didn't have any combat ability. Unlike Tsuna, he never had the personal drive to prove others wrong and to exceed in spite of being quirkless.

(Though in Tsuna's case it was less "drive" and more "spite", but the sentiment still counted!)

Izuku looked at Tsuna with some hope. Mostly because it would be nice to have a friend who knew the pain he went through growing up quirkless.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I know my studying habits for anything school related took a hit since the teachers were all too happy to mock me for not having a quirk," sighed Tsuna. "And it would be nice to have a sparring partner."

"Good! Then the first thing you two are going to do is clean up this beach," said All Might proudly.

He wanted Tsuna to at least try to make friends, and Izuku would be a good influence on him.

For the next ten months, the two boys trained... Izuku found Tsuna to be sarcastic, grumpy, but otherwise he was a really nice guy who was just plain lonely. He was a quiet person who tried to hide behind his headphones, because he was terrified of connecting with others only to be rejected when they found out he was quirkless.

Once he had a reason to excel, Tsuna's grades jumped from a "D" average to a "B". All Might was very proud of him for that, since he only needed a little gentle encouragement and a reason to study.

On the other hand, it took Izuku a full two months before he started to get the hang of martial arts. Tsuna was a rather patient teacher, as he knew from experience all the pitfalls of being a self-taught fighter.

All too soon, the day of the exam drew near. However it begged the question of who to give his quirk "All for One" to.

"Give it to Izuku. He would need it more in the test, and I'm not exactly aiming for the hero classes to begin with," said Tsuna.

"I had almost forgotten you were simply aiming to get into UA, rather than become a Pro Hero. It's probably for the best," said All Might. "Though if you were to find a support specialist, you still might make a good enough showing to get in to the hero class anyway."

Tsuna thought that one over.

"Do I have to be in the same grouping as them, or can they use my showing to get into the support classes?" he asked seriously.

"It's not uncommon for a weaker hero and a support specialist to team up to get a better grade. Why?"

"Because I might know someone who can help Deku and I get in to the academy. I know he was hoping to enter one of the more advanced support schools, but he's probably jump at the chance to join UA."

"I thought you didn't have any friends before you moved here?" asked Izuku.

"I have an acquaintance with a mutual love for music and certain bands," corrected Tsuna. "He was looked down upon because he was more of a support specialist than a hero and he was always inventing things. He was the closest thing I had that I could call a friend, but we couldn't really connect because people might target him more for being close to me."

There was no mistaking the bitterness in his voice when he said that. It only reminded All Might of the painful reason why he had been forced to relocate his grandson, despite the awkwardness of dealing with a sullen teenager who had a reason to be angry and anti-social at best.

Five days later, a red head with a stomach problem arrived in town. He seemed relieved to see Tsuna again, and perfectly healthy to boot.

Toshinori was just relieved to see his grandson did actually have _one_ friend, even if they had been forced to remain distant. In order to insure both of his students were at their best, he told them to take the remaining two days off.

He had little to teach them before the big day anyway, and this way young Izuku would have a chance to assimilate his Quirk properly.

Shōichi Irie was a red haired inventor with a chronic stomach problem. He had met Tsuna after the other teen helped him to collect his things from a tree thanks to some bullies, and the two had bonded over their mutual dislike of the emphasis on quirks.

Specifically the fact that a "brain-type" like Shōichi was often mocked because he preferred to be a "support specialist" over a hero. He was the one who made most of the tech Tsuna actually had, though he had been amused when Tsuna was just as quick to bond with his friend in Italy over ninja training of all things.

He was hoping to enter UA as well, except he would be applying to the support classes rather than the hero classes. Spanner would be joining him, as their submission had been a joint project.

Needless to say the two were rather eager to join Tsuna in the school, if only so they could become his support team.

Finding out Tsuna was actually _All Might's_ grandson had come as a real shock.

"No way... your grandfather is the current number one hero?!" said Shōichi.

All Might was just glad that his grandson _did_ have friends, but was forced to distance himself from them because of the environment he was in.

"You know if Hibari found out he would be insufferable about challenging you," said Spanner, his usual sucker in his mouth.

"Which is the same reason I never let him know I was doing self-study in martial arts. If he beat me, then everyone would claim it was an 'unfair fight' because he has a quirk and I don't. He doesn't deserve that sort of mark against his reputation...even if no one is aware what his actual quirk _is_," said Tsuna.

"If you're talking about the kid with the tonfas, he's been scouted for UA as a teacher's assistant for the Hero class," said Toshinori absently. "His grandfather specifically requested him, but they had to wait for the court case to clear."

Tsuna turned to look at him.

"Someone actually had the balls to charge Hibari?"

"No, I meant the case against his grandfather. He was busted doing side work for the Anti-Hero League, so he was forced onto probation as punishment or he loses his hero license," clarified Toshinori. "Hibari _is_ a fully licensed hero, even if he does have an issue with beating up the villains a bit too much."

"Oh those guys. The Anti-Hero League is seriously annoying," said Spanner dismissively. "They keep trying to steal my robots."

The Anti-Hero League was the subject of a _lot_ of intense debate. They weren't Villains, but they certainly weren't Heroes either. They were somewhere in the middle.

Sometime when Quirks first started appearing, a group of peasants were attempting to overthrow certain members of the ruling class. The problem was that the Heroes, who were attempting to make a good enough impression on the people so that quirks would become accepted, decided to side with the nobility rather than the common folk.

By the time the heroes realized they had picked the wrong side, it was too late and the civilians were pretty mad at them for interfering with the people trying to help them and actually _doing_ something about the oppression they were under.

Which was when the leader of the soon to be "Anti-Heroes" stepped up and offered a compromise to the fledgling Pro Hero class.

In exchange for looking the other way to 'registered Anti-Heroes', the Anti-Hero class would abstain from using their quirks directly in crime-related behavior, and were occasionally allowed to help the Heroes out without being charged as vigilantes.

(Never mind that the title of "vigilante" described the leader of the Anti-Heroes perfectly.)

Eager to turn public opinion back in their favor, the heroes agreed and the Anti-Hero League was formed. They were neither Heroes nor Villains, but as the leader of the group so eloquently put it "Bad guys that occasionally did the Good Guys a favor, despite being criminals".

It didn't take long for organized crime to figure out this was their best chance to avoid being arrested, so most of them seized upon the opportunity to continue doing business by joining the league, which allowed an uneasy truce to form.

The Pro Heroes didn't _like_ them, but they learned to tolerate them because there was less bloodshed otherwise.

That being said, the Pro Heroes really didn't like it when they found one of their licensed heroes moonlighting with the Anti-Hero League, hence why the 'Close Combat instructor' had been put on probation.

He was actually rather fine with that, because he wanted his apprentice to become a Hero rather than join the League. Besides, this meant he could force his grandson to spend some family bonding time with him.

"Hey grandpa... are the trainee heroes allowed to bring in special equipment to the exam?" asked Tsuna seriously.

"I can ask."

A short call later, Toshinori gave him some good news.

"Special equipment is allowed, but it has to be for general use and not specifically aimed towards robots. Nothing that uses electrical discharge or messes with electronics specifically is allowed. You're supposed to show your skills off, not how many toys you have."

"So gear that looks like it's based off of old ninja equipment is okay?" asked Spanner eagerly.

"They just said 'no fancy equipment'. Stuff like swords and blades are allowed," said Toshinori. "Why?"

Tsuna's grin was rather worrying.

"You know what this means, don't you fellows?"

"You get to use all that ninja training we signed up for!" cheered Spanner with glee.

"Just remember...no attacking the other examinees. You're limited to robots only," said Toshinori.

"Is it true that the entire exam is based off of Super Mario Brothers?" asked Shōichi.

"That was the general gist," he replied.

"Oh this is going to be fun," grinned Spanner.

"Is there a set uniform for this or what?" asked Tsuna.

This...was going to be a long night.

* * *

_The day of the exams..._

Izuku looked at Tsuna, who was unusually eager for these exams, despite his apathy before. Then he caught a glimpse of an odd thing on his wrist.

"What is that?"

"Kunai launcher," said Tsuna easily. "Did you know old school equipment is allowed so long as it doesn't effect electronics directly?"

Izuku ran that through his head, before an epiphany hit him.

"Ninja?" he asked.

"Ninja," confirmed Tsuna with far more cheer than he had showed before.

Izuku would only find out later that Tsuna had trounced the robots without using a _single_ Quirk. More to the point he took out the zero pointer solo using a broken piece of pipe.

Even Tsuna couldn't explain how he knew where exactly to hit that oversized robot to take it out with a broken pipe.

* * *

_In the control room_

"I call dibs on young Tsunayoshi," spoke a voice immediately, the _second_ he realized the kid had beaten the robots with pure skill in martial arts, and not because of some flashy quirk.

All Might chuckled.

"I had hopes my adorable grandson would catch your interest. He will likely be thrilled having a proper martial arts master training him," said All Might.

Dead silence.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say Tsunayoshi is your..." said Shouta in disbelief.

"One of my ex girlfriends was pregnant when she left me, and didn't tell me about my daughter until I went to find her again," said All Might sheepishly. "I only recently found out where they lived, only to learn I had a grandson as well. Tsuna has been living with me for almost a full year now."

"Why?" asked Fon. Or as he was known by his Hero Name, "Eye of the Storm", or "Storm Dragon" for short.

"It's rather complicated to explain, and I don't want to alter your perception of him without getting to know him first," said All Might diplomatically.

How could he explain Tsuna was quirkless when he had managed to make such a good showing?

On the plus side, he fully planned to increase Tsuna's allowance for getting in without revealing the fact he was quirkless.


	3. Chapter 3

Fon would politely ignore the fact Tsuna almost fainted meeting him, not because he was famous...but because he happened to be a dead ringer for his grandson Kyouya.

Once they got over that awkwardness, the subject of an apprenticeship came up. Tsuna, upon learning what his specialty was almost lept at the chance.

Learning under a _real_ martial arts master, rather than relying on his quirk to fight? Where did he sign up?

However it was what Fon noticed after a week of learning the extent of Tsuna's martial arts knowledge that lead to an...interesting...revelation.

Tsuna was not actually quirkless. Fon had been dubious about that matter from the moment he actually met the child, but as he got Tsuna onto some basic exercises to replace his previous training habits, he became certain of it.

To that extent, he had convinced Shouta, aka Eraserhead, to join them in a special room for out of control quirks among junior heroes.

All Might tried to hide his hopeful expression, as sooner or later the revelation Tsuna had no quirk _would_ get out.

The moment Shouta used his quirk on Tsuna, the reaction was immediate.

Tsuna clutched his chest, as the temperature began to rise at an alarming rate. His eyes began to glow with a bright amber color, as opposed to the warm brown they had been before.

"Enough," said Fon, and Shouta blinked.

"What the hell was that?"

"Tsuna's quirk has been sealed. It must have happened when he was young enough that the quirk itself never had a chance to manifest properly."

"He's not quirkless?" said All Might with hope.

"No. I can only assume some Villain took note of his actual quirk and decided to nip a potential rival or enemy in the bud. The good news is that this can be reversed...the bad news is that he's going to have the same difficulties young Izuku has with his," said Fon.

The relief on All Might and Tsuna's faces was clear as day.

"First we need to find out exactly what sort of seal was used, and to apply the reversal on it. We can go from there, but until then I would recommend he is put on restricted classes until this issue is fixed."

Tsuna didn't dare mention the voice in head. He was terrified they would tell him Homura wasn't real. That he was just a sign of the stress getting to him.

Something he had trouble believing, because even after he left Namimori, Homura was still there.

_A few days later..._

Tsuna was nervous, and understandably so. They were having a great deal of trouble finding what exactly was causing the block on his quirk, and school had already started. While he was glad to be in the same class as Izuku, he wasn't happy being stuck with that spoiled brat Bakugou.

If things continued, he might not be able to keep up with his classmates.

Fon was quite frustrated as well. He suspected the real culprit of the block was a _dying will flame_ seal. It was an unspoken fact that those with Active Dying Will Flames, or "Soul Fire" as it was known among the hero sect, had the rather unusual habit of merging with a quirk.

It was a simple way to explain Dying Will Flames without pissing off the Vindice.

The governments were able to ignore the existence of Flames as just another aspect of a quirk, and allowed the criminal underworld to keep the secret that the power had been around _long_ before quirks even existed.

If he was right, and it was a Flame seal that had blocked Tsuna's quirk, then it meant he would have to resort to something rather drastic and somewhat dangerous to break it. He couldn't bring in someone to remove the seal, as there was no way to tell _who_ had put it on him in the first place.

Besides, it would mean exposing Tsuna to the real truth behind the Anti-Hero League, and that was something he really didn't want to do.

It was why he had accepted the 'probation' and slap on the wrist for moonlighting with the Anti-Heroes...in return for teaching at least two years at UA, his apprentice I-Pin would firmly remain with the hero sect, rather than be dragged in as a child assassin like some of the Triads were planning.

Fon had two ideas on how to break Tsuna's seal.

One, they went skydiving and gave him a tampered parachute. Shouta's power would give Tsuna all the opening he would need to push through the seal on his own power.

All Might was decidedly against that, because so much could go wrong and he didn't want his grandson to end up a pancake on the ground.

Option two was _almost_ as traumatic, except it would be under far more controlled circumstances and involved setting Fon's grandson Kyouya after Tsuna with the strict instructions to push the younger teen to his absolute limit when it came to martial arts, even if it cost him his life.

In other words, Fon was giving Kyouya Hibari the go-ahead to use his _full_ force against Tsuna while Shouta used his power to weaken the seal as much as possible, in the hopes that the fight would draw out Tsuna's quirk and force the seal to break under the strain of not getting his head caved in.

Needless to say they were going to try the second option first.

Tsuna took one look at Hibari, and openly winced. This...would not end well.

On an unrelated note, he might _finally_ solve one of Namimori's greatest mysteries.

Which happened to be what exact quirk Hibari Kyouya had, since he had never once used his. At least in public. Some said it was teleportation, others said it was his strength, but no one could say with any conclusive agreement _what_ he had.

They knew it had to be something, because he wasn't registered as quirkless and no one was brave enough to claim he was.

Hibari looked at him dismissively, and Tsuna's desire to prove himself a capable fighter, quirk or no quirk, rose.

"This had better be worth my time, smiling carnivore," he drawled.

"You might be surprised. Tsuna is actually quite competent at hand to hand, in spite of being self-taught."

Coming from Fon, such a compliment was high praise indeed.

Hibari gave Tsuna a once over, before dismissing him as a potential opponent. It pissed Tsuna off greatly.

"You seriously expect me to fight this _herbivore_ at full power?" he asked dubiously.

Now Tsuna was irritated enough to say something.

"Hibari-sempai, the only reason you've never actually seen my skill level is because I know for a fact you would have tried to challenge me before now. And considering you have had actual training and I'm a self-taught fighter, you would have almost certainly won...and yet everyone would have claimed it was because you have a quirk and according to all records I don't. I didn't want to deal with people disparaging you for kicking my ass because my quirk was deliberately sealed by a villain," said Tsuna bluntly. "Your image is scary enough as it is... the last thing I wanted was for you to accidentally gain a reputation for picking on people supposedly weaker than you."

That made Hibari stop and actually look at the other teen. There had been several persistent rumors that the 'quirkless loser' from his school had taken down a villain with contemptable ease, and no one was entirely certain if it was true or not. That was in spite of the fact that the video of Tsuna beating up the third-rate Villain kept showing up around Namimori.

It didn't help that he had been removed from the school and the town shortly after by his maternal grandfather, who was less than pleased with the treatment his grandson had to deal with.

Hibari had wanted to investigate, but with the small animal removed from his territory he never had a chance to.

It seemed fate was determined to rectify that issue.

A bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face.

Tsuna almost winced, except this was the perfect opportunity to see what his actual skill level was.

If he could survive Hibari Kyouya for any length of time, then clearly he was better off than he had believed due to his low self confidence.

He still had trouble socializing with the rest of his class, and had a habit of hiding behind Deku whenever possible.

Ten minutes in, he realized Hibari wasn't holding back in the least... he was going to need a visit to Recovery Girl before he could move again later.

In spite of that fact, he was still holding his own.

However his body was wearing down, and he would be damned if he didn't make Hibari take him seriously as a fellow martial artist. He was going to make the demon prefect acknowledge him as a fighter or die trying.

Unseen by him, his homeroom teacher Aizawa Shouto was waiting for Fon's signal.

Seeing Tsuna's eyes glow from what one of his old colleagues in the Strongest Seven jokingly called the "Lantern Warning", Fon nodded to Eraserhead.

Tsuna felt the strange heat fill his bones, and Homura surge forward. His movements became slightly faster, as by this point he was used to his teacher's odd effect on him...at least enough that the fire didn't overwhelm him like before.

The glow in his eyes grew more intense the longer Eraserhead used his power on him.

Hibari's eyes grew interested, and he went for a final push.

Something inside Tsuna's mind _snapped_, as his quirk clicked into place after years of being forcibly surpressed by the seal.

Vibrant orange and violet flames flowed down his hands and a strange fire appeared on his forehead as he slammed his fist into Hibari's face. Fon's shock was almost palpable, as he felt the full force of Tsuna's flames from where he was standing.

With the seal shattered, Eraserhead blinked and where there had been one Tsuna, there were now _two_.

The other Tsuna was made of almost pure fire, mostly orange but with thick purple and hints of indigo streaked throughout. It calmly looked at them before dispersing, but Fon was more interested in checking on Tsuna and Kyouya.

His shock at the fact Tsuna was a sealed Sky was overtaken by the relief he felt when he realized that at some point when the seal shattered, his new apprentice had harmonized with his grandson.

Clouds were always tricky to court, and Kyouya was a particularly proud and prickly one. So the fact he respected Tsuna enough to create a fledgling harmony bond said volumes of how impressed he had been with the other teen's skill level.

It took him several moments to notice Tsuna's flames were tentatively poking at his own, still unused to being free of that horrid seal.

Fon went to brush it off, as he had yet to meet a Sky strong enough to actually _handle_ the full force of his flames.

Instead he found himself with the sudden revelation that his new student was also his Sky.

What sort of fool would seal a Sky as strong and pure as Tsuna was? It made absolutely no sense at all, especially considering how coveted Skies were in any underworld group. Any number of famiglia or group would be eager to have a child this strong in their family!

It was a mystery that he was unlikely to solve any time soon.

Either way, if he ever found the villain responsible he was going to happily murder them in cold blood. Regardless of who they were.

(If the Vindice or the Anti-Hero League asked, he would cite 'Guardian instincts' and explain the situation to them. He highly doubted anyone would bother charging him afterwards.)

_A few hours later..._

Recovery Girl finished up with her work. The Hibari child did a real number on All Might's grandson, but at least she could tell there was a _hint_ of respect in his eyes for the younger teen.

"So...any clue what his quirk actually is?" asked the principal.

"From what I saw... fire clones," said Shouta.

"We won't know for sure until he wakes up and is well enough to try it out," said Fon. However there was no mistaking the pleased expression on his face.

After all, it wasn't every day you ran into someone capable of taking on a fighter of Kyouya's calibur despite being self-taught from shoddy martial arts videos. To say Fon was quite eager to see how quickly Tsuna could progress as a martial artist with proper instruction was an understatement.

The fact he could handle fifteen long minutes of Kyouya at full power meant he could take a lot of the training exercises Fon favored without too much complaint.

All Might was just happy the seal was removed.

Quite a few people (Deku included) waited with baited breath to find out what Tsuna's actual quirk was. After hearing the prognosis that a villain had _sealed_ his before it could manifest properly, and yet he _still_ managed to get into UA without it, the other students looked at him with a great deal of respect.

Well, except Bakugou but Tsuna didn't particularly like his attitude to begin with.

Tsuna didn't even have to think twice about using his quirk. Sure, his homeroom teacher was there to prevent any...accidents...but he didn't have to fear Homura.

Seeing the fiery double of himself, Tsuna grinned.

Homura grinned right back, and to the shock of the class and teachers, used sign language to speak.

After all, he didn't have normal vocal cords, and Tsuna had learned Japanese sign language out of boredom.

"So what do you think?" asked Eraserhead to Fon.

"Flame Clone, at least that's what it looks like. His quirk must have evolved to make the flame sentient after the stress it was put under," said Fon critically.

"You know I never did figure out what Hibari-sempai's quirk was," said Tsuna.

Fon looked infinitely amused by that comment.

"Kyouya, you did agree to go full out on him earlier. Don't think I missed the fact you kept your quirk hidden," said Fon.

Kyouya looked at him sourly...and then Fon brought out something that had everyone confused.

It was a small sack, about the size of a mandarin orange. A pleasant aroma came off it, and Tsuna was one of the first to note the way Hibari's eyes followed the sack with every movement.

Then Fon threw it, and Hibari all but pounced on it. What had Tsuna's full attention was the fact a pair of feline ears and a _tail_ had appeared the second he did. So did some very vicious looking claws on his hands and feet.

Fon looked infinitely amused.

"Kyouya's quirk is officially animal transformation, or at least a partial when he lets his control slip."

"And unofficially?" asked Tsuna, discreetly moving towards Hibari to stroke his ears.

"Well, there's a reason his _official_ Hero title is Cheshire," admitted Fon. "Even if his 'uniform' leaves much to be desired."

Fon would deny taking discreet blackmail pictures of Tsuna turning Kyouya into a puddle of feline goo. Apparently he was _really_ good at stroking Kyouya's ears to the point he was actually purring.

By the time Kyouya regained his senses, he was sprawled against Tsuna, purring contentedly. Tsuna seemed to be treating him like a giant panther of sorts...wild and untamed, but still a cat.

Kyouya was not amused...but it was hard to raised the kind of ire needed to get into a proper rage when Tsuna unashamedly took advantage of his ears and made him feel so lethargic.

He settled for annoyance, and would quietly sneak demand Tsuna's attention whenever class wasn't in session. Much like any other cat, really.

Needless to say Fon found this entire situation _beyond_ adorable.


	4. Chapter 4

Much to the surprise and delight of Fon, the clone designated "Homura" by Tsuna was able to learn martial arts...and more importantly everything _he_ learned, he passed on to Tsuna once he returned to the boy's flames. Sort of like a fiery "Shadow Clone" from a popular manga.

Naturally Fon opted to abuse this technique, as he didn't really have much to do with the regular students. He was a close combat instructor, and his classes were for the advanced students only. Namely because of the presence of Kyouya, who would not hesitate to test the younger heroes to insure they took the lessons seriously.

If they could survive him, then it was a fairly good indicator that they were learning something. Especially since Quirks were forbidden unless it could be augmented with martial arts to become more effective, like Tsuna's clones.

So while Tsuna was in class, he allowed Homura out to train under Fon. Then, when regular classes were over, he would drag Deku with him for martial arts lessons.

Izuku's control over his new quirk was _highly_ sporadic. Fortunately a combination of Tai Chi and Qigong was helping him to learn how to control it without damaging himself. Considering how badly injured his body was the first time he used it, and how he nearly blew up his finger during a demonstration, it was a good thing he was learning how to fight without having to rely on his quirk.

Tsuna was mostly thrown at Kyouya, who was all too happy to try and cave the other boy's head in while he assimiliated the training Fon had given Homura while he was in normal class.

He had noticed with some interest that Tsuna tended to learn better in an actual fight, compared to the usual training which had him repeating the moves until they were ingrained in muscle memory.

He could work with that.

Of course the most entertaining part of their training was the bonding moments that were happening between Tsuna and Kyouya. Whenever he called an end to their fighting, Kyouya would allow his cat features out, and silently demand attention. And Tsuna would always oblige with open amusement, unaware of the fact that the act was actually helping the guardian bond he had with Kyouya to grow even stronger.

At this point it was starting to look like Kyouya's status as Cloud Guardian would become permanent by the end of the month.

Fon was rather pleased with the way things had gone. He had never expected finding a Sky, especially at his age, but he had zero complaints about Tsuna.

The teen had been raised outside the general idiocy regarding Sky Flames, so there was a chance he could nudge some true bonds for him rather than have 'acceptable' Elements being shoved on him and claiming they were bonded. Tsuna was already half-way towards a bond with the Sun and Lightning he was friends with from Namimori, and Fon knew of a decent Rain as well. The thought of sharing the teen with his fellow Arcobaleno never crossed his mind at all... he was quite possessive and he worried introducing the boy to them would somehow ruin his fun.

Besides, he wouldn't inflict Reborn on anyone, especially since Tsuna already had a potential Sun Guardian in mind.

All Might was rather pleased with the change in his grandson. The bitterness he held was quickly disappearing, though he retained his sarcastic and blunt personality.

* * *

_Some time later..._

Today was All Might's first class with the students, including Tsuna. It was also the first time they were allowed to wear their chosen "Hero" uniform, which had been made to their specifications and the information known about their unique powers.

For instance, the _second_ Tsuna's quirk was allowed to manifest, all his clothing was promptly made fireproof. Tsuna hadn't overly minded the fact his entire wardrobe had been switched out...most of his clothes were overdue a replacement, and his mother never bothered to give him enough allowance to buy new clothes anyway. She only ever did clothes shopping once or twice a year and he had to make due.

Tsuna's hero costume looked like a mixture of special forces gear (it was the vest and camo) and old-school shinobi wear (mainly the mesh and pants).

Since he _did_ have shinobi training, albeit ridiculously modernized, Fon decided to give him proper training. Tsuna could now throw kunai, shuriken and even senbon with far better accuracy, and his climbing skills had only improved with the addition of the special claws Fon was able to get him. He also had an extendable pole, courtesy of his two support specialist friends...it worked much like the famous staff from _Journey to the West _(or for those too young to read the classic, the power pole from _Dragonball_.)

(Would not stop his fellow Arcobaleno, particularly Skull, from claiming Fon was secretly a ninja. He brought it on himself really.)

Rather than do anything as cliché as a mask, Tsuna went with a helmet specially designed by Shōichi and Spanner. It gave him a 3-D image of his surroundings along with all sorts of helpful details and visuals...like the location of possible civilians for instance, via tracking their cell phones.

The primary coloration was orange, but it was done in far more tasteful shades so it merely looked like he was on fire. There was the occasional violet trim, but not much. The thing Tsuna liked the most was the combat boots...if he could sneak up on people in those, he could do it to _anyone_. Besides, sandals were a bit too exposed for his tastes.

Fon had honestly debated introducing Tsuna to Colonello, or that young Rain from Namimori from a samurai family.

He would have to see how things turned out. At the very least, perhaps having a proper Sky would deter Colonello's unfortunate stalking behavior.

The first team up was Izuku and surprisingly Tsuna. They would be playing the part of the heroes. Unfortunately Bakugou was on the villain side.

It was 'unfortunate' because Tsuna had yet to determine what the hell his actual problem was with his childhood friend. He seemed to straddle the line of hero and villain a little too often for his tastes. It was like he was openly offended by the fact Izuku was standing up for himself.

A sudden thought occurred to him.

Was it possible Bakugou was _jealous_ of the fact Izuku no longer needed his protection? Or was he just a tsundere with a hair trigger temper?

It was equally possible that his quirk altered his chemical make-up in his brain, causing an instability. There was simply no way to tell.

Though he was definitely going to ask that tsundere question, if only to throw the 'villain' off.

He was so glad that part of the new helmet had a camera...the expression on the bomber's face was absolutely _hysterical_.

Izuku looked like he was torn between laughing and looking rather speculative.

On the plus side, it definitely distracted the other long enough for Tsuna to reach the bomb and 'disable' the other villain.

* * *

Fon was visiting a certain sushi restaurant. Kyouya disliked being away from his territory for too long, so he had gone to 'retrieve' him.

Seeing the empty eyes of the young Rain, Fon looked at the boy's father.

"What happened?" he inquired.

Tsuyoshi almost spat in disgust.

"His _team_ happened. The fool acting as coach never even noticed or cared my Takeshi was overdoing it with the training, so when his arm finally had enough and he ended up injured his so-called friends decided to look for a shinier star to follow. I nearly lost him, if not for the Pro Heroes. He's been banned from playing until the psychologist clears him," said Tsuyoshi in anger.

He wasn't sure who he was furious at most...himself for not seeing the pain his son in, or the casual way his 'friends' had dismissed his son when he needed their support most.

Fon looked at the listless way Takeshi went about cleaning up tables.

He took out his phone and sent a text to Tsuna. After a brief conversation with his student, he looked at Tsuyoshi who was still preparing different orders.

"I may know the location of a young Sky the same age as your son, with a position open for a Rain. One that is so far unaffiliated with any of the families, and is not a part of the Anti-Hero League," said Fon seriously. "Would you be interested in seeing if your son would be willing to court him as a possible guardian?"

"At this point I would literally try _anything_ to have my Takeshi back. The boy I have now is little more than a shell of the child I raised," said Tsuyoshi tiredly. "So long as this Sky would treat him right, I would support introducing him."

"If it helps, the Sky in question used to be in the same class as your son until his grandfather discovered how much harassment he was dealing with from all sides and removed him from his mother's custody."

Tsuyoshi paused.

"Would this have happened about a year or so ago?"

Fon nodded.

"I remember him. He was a good kid and he didn't deserve half the things people said about him. Quirkless or not, he was a friendly enough boy."

"Actually he wasn't quirkless at all. Some idiot went and sealed his flames, and by extension forced his quirk to manifest internally while preventing it from working properly," coughed Fon. "If it wasn't for the fact he knew Kyouya would retaliate, I have little doubt in my mind he would have come back and shown quite a few people what he thought of their behavior and comments over the years."

Fon was not exaggerating about that. The only reason Tsuna hadn't made a special 'visit' to his home town was because Kyouya would never have allowed him to go through with _half_ of what he wanted to do, and he didn't want to disappoint his grandfather.

Avoidance was really the only root he could take.

"A seal? What sort of idiot villain _seals_ a child rather than kidnapping them and raising them to be their minion?" said Tsuyoshi incredulous.

"The kind of fool who believes it's acceptable to use a _flame_ seal on an innocent child who just went active," said Fon in disgust.

Tsuyoshi paused for a moment.

"Omerta?" he asked.

"Vindice. I suspect the ones responsible are from a bloodline famiglia. Whoever did it used Flames, but their execution was _very_ sloppy," said Fon.

"Where do you want to introduce them?" asked Tsuyoshi seriously.

"He attends UA as part of the Pro Hero class, so likely next weekend. Both of his friends from Namimori also attend the school, so hopefully something will spark between them," said Fon.

* * *

Tsuna vaguely remembered Takeshi Yamamoto, the star of the baseball team. He was one of the select few that did not mock him openly or quietly behind his back about being quirkless.

He had always felt Takeshi's smile was beyond hollow, but because of his general apathy towards the citizens of Namimori and their deliberate blindness to the damage they were doing to him, he had never bothered to call the other boy on it.

Which was probably why he took one look at the false smile Takeshi was sporting, once he spotted where the other teen was and snorted derisively.

"I don't know how you can stand to hold that fake grin on your face all the time. Doesn't it get tiring hiding your real feelings towards those idiots?" he commented blithely.

The look of shock on Takeshi's face held more emotion than Tsuyoshi had seen since the 'incident'.

"Ahahaha... I don't know what you mean!" he said, trying to deflect the truth.

Tsuna stared him down, his amber-colored eyes meeting Takeshi's lost and broken ones without hesitation.

"I'm calling bullshit on that grin. I know you hate those idiots as much as I do, but unlike me you allowed them to lead you on with fake friendships simply because you had no better idea of what to do with yourself and wanted to belong," said Tsuna bluntly. "I take it they dropped you once your star fell?"

Takeshi flinched.

"See, this is why I was beyond happy to move in with my grandfather, despite knowing almost nothing about him," said Tsuna. "At least here no one mocks me because of the fact it took the adults far too long to learn I had a seal on me."

Takeshi blinked.

"A seal?"

"A villain apparently stumbled across Tsuna before his quirk matured enough to manifest, and put a rare seal on him. As a result, his quirk and natural charisma was blocked," explained Fon patiently. "The only reason he hasn't gone _back_ to Namimori to show everyone who mocked him for being 'quirkless' is because he knows his grandfather would never allow it, never mind how Kyouya would react to a lot of repressed rage aimed at the herbivores in his territory."

"What is your quirk?" asked Takeshi, honestly interested.

Tsuyoshi took it as a good sign, because this was the most life he had seen in his son for months.

Takeshi gaped in shock when Tsuna's face scrunched a bit, before a second Tsuna made entirely of fire appeared and leaned on the real one. He looked at Takeshi and waved, before his hands went into a series of funny signs.

Tsuyoshi blinked.

"You know sign language?"

"Homura can't speak normally, though he has tried. Fon's been teaching him various sign languages while Kyouya is done trying to cave my head in during our play fights," shrugged Tsuna. "On the plus side I can now act as an interpreter in three different 'languages'."

"That is so cool! Your flame clone can act on it's own, like the ones from that ninja manga?" said Takeshi enthusiastically.

That was way more impressive than half the quirks his former 'friends' had.

Tsuna brightened at that. It was always nice having Homura complimented, and Takeshi was easily one of the more bearable people from Namimori.

Tsuyoshi didn't bother hiding the sheer relief he felt seeing his son interact with Tsuna. He could already tell a possible Guardian bond was forming between them, because Tsuna honestly did not care about Takeshi's former 'fame' as the Baseball Ace. He was more derisive towards Takeshi's former friends and his coach for missing the fact that his son had been pushing himself too far for people who were not worth it.

It was a pity UA didn't allow for late transfers, but it was still possible for them to move close enough to the school so the bond between his son and his new friend could form properly.

Takeshi would be in good hands.


	5. Chapter 5

Tsuna was both surprised...and silently happy...when he found out Takeshi and his father had moved their restaurant from Namimori to his new town. And that he could spend more time getting to know the former ace.

After Tsuyoshi gave Tsuna the full details of what happened, he could completely understand why the sushi chef had been more than happy to relocate both his son and his business far away from the area where Takeshi would only suffer from reminders of what happened. Especially since Tsuna had the ability to draw out his real personality from behind the fake smiles he used.

The Sky was all too happy to call bullshit every time he caught Takeshi using a fake smile, and was slowly coaxing the Rain into showing his actual feelings. Even if it was only around him and the other Elements.

It was...nice. Takeshi found himself actually relaxing around the other teen. It made him wish he had gotten to know Tsuna _properly_ before he moved away.

At least he could make up for it now.

* * *

_A short while later..._

Tsuna was actually looking forward to the trial of rescue. Mostly because it was the first time he would be permitted to use his quirk, since he had proven to the teachers he had a far better grasp on it than Izuku had on his recently awakened quirk.

Then again he had spent _years_ with Homura being his only friend and having to work on his coordination and physical ability from the ground up. And he had kept up that regimen even after he lost his clumsiness.

Because of that, he was able to physically handle the times when he 'merged' with Homura for at least thirty minutes at a time.

Fon called it 'Hyper Dying Will Mode' for some reason, and was always rather pleased whenever Tsuna could extend how long he could hold it.

It certainly made his fights with Kyouya a little easier to handle.

Tsuna politely listened to No. 13 in regards to what they would be doing, and couldn't help raising his hand when asked if they had any questions.

"Are we going to be given any sort of lessons on basic first aid, or is just strictly rescue work today?" asked Tsuna.

No. 13 blinked behind his helmet.

"It's strictly rescue work today," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Because teaching the students basic first aid in the event their quirks are unuseable just feels like common sense. At the very least it would allow them to help those with healing abilities perform triage by allowing them to focus on the more serious injuries while giving those unable to act something useful to do besides crowd control," replied Tsuna. "And it's not like someone of Recovery Girl's caliber will always be available during a mission."

"Well said. However today it's just rescue and recovery practice. If you really are interested in those sort of lessons, I'm sure Recovery Girl would know who to ask. Though from what I understand, the Eye of the Storm knows quite a bit about herbal remedies," said Thirteen.

"Who cares about first aid! If they're too weak to get to a healer, then why care?" said Bakugou.

Tsuna glared at him.

"What if a villain targeted your mother or father, or a close friend? What would you do if the healers were too busy with other more critical cases while they were in pain? A few lessons in first aid might help save their lives one day," he shot back icily.

That comment hit Izuku hard, and he made a note to ask Recovery Girl and Fon for lessons later once this was over. Besides, with how often he injured himself with his own quirk, it wouldn't be a bad thing to learn.

"Tch!"

Before the lesson could get properly started, Tsuna watched with some alarm and some surprise when a portal made of darkness appeared.

He sincerely doubted this was part of the test... if this was supposed to be a rescue lesson then it made no sense to have people like _that_ appearing.

Which meant they were dealing with villains.

A sort of calm filled his features, even as his classmates were suddenly split into different groups via the portals. Clearly these villains weren't after the students.

The second he heard they were after his grandfather, any thoughts of staying out of it died.

He was not going to risk losing his family to these bastards, and he could already tell who the biggest issue would be next to the two 'leaders'. There was no way that thing with the exposed brain was normal.

Something inside him purred, and he felt Homura's mind merge with his own. Since the villains failed to remove him from the area, that meant he was close enough to do something.

Well, he already knew what his target would be.

He pulled out his headphones, which were now an _official_ part of his uniform, and dialed up Shōichi. With how paranoid the two techies were, it broke through whatever was jamming the signal with ease.

"_Yo. You need some tech support boss?" _asked Spanner.

"Two things. One, can these things hijack the communication system where I'm at?"

"_Let's see... The USJ? Yeah, we can hack that. Why you got something in mind?" _asked Spanner. _"It'll be hell on your grade, but we can hack it."_

"Not a problem at the moment. I want you to hook the intercom system with my playlist so I don't have to worry about missing someone coming up behind me."

"_Done and done. Just hit play and it'll start going. Anything else boss?"_

"Tell the school villains have infiltrated the test area. They're looking for All Might and have already seperated the students from the two teachers here and it's unknown if they're willing to go lethal," said Tsuna.

"_...Most people would lead with _that_, rather than start with asking if we can hijack the intercom system so everyone has to listen to their music, you know,"_ said Shōichi. You could hear the sweatdrop.

"Why would I care about that? Eventually the school will notice the communication ban or someone will make a break for it in time. All I care about is not having to listen to these idiots monologing."

"_Fair enough,"_ chuckled Spanner.

Tsuna hung up, but he knew the two techies were now monitoring his status like hawks. He scrolled through his playlist before he found the _perfect_ song to start his epic beatdown of that weird villain with the exposed brain.

A wicked grin appeared on his face.

* * *

_Third POV_

The intercom system blared for a moment, before _music_ began pouring out of the hidden speakers.

"_Legend never die_

_When the world is calling you_

_Can you hear them screaming out your name?_

_Legends never die_

_They become a part of you_

_Every time you bleed for reaching greatness_

_Relentless you survive_

_They never lose hope_

_When everything's cold and the fighting's near_

_It's deep in their bones_

_They'll run into smoke when the fire is fierce_

_Oh pick yourself up_

_'Cause_

_Legends never die_

_When the world is calling you_

_Can you hear them screaming out your name?_

_Legends never die_

_They become a part of you_

_Every time you bleed for reaching greatness_

_Legends never die_

_They're written down in eternity_

_But you'll never see the price it costs_

_The scars collected all their lives_

_When everything's lost_

_They'll pick up their hearts and avenge defeat_

_Before it all starts_

_They'll suffer through harm just to touch a dream_

_Oh pick yourself up_

_'Cause_

_Legends never die_

_When the world is calling you_

_Can you hear them screaming out your name?_

_Legends never die_

_They become a part of you_

_Every time you bleed reaching for greatness_

_Legends never die_

_When the world is calling out your name_

_Begging you to fight_

_Pick yourself up once more_

_Pick yourself up_

_'Cause_

_Legends never die_

_When the world is calling you_

_Can you hear them screaming out your name?_

_Legends never die_

_They become a part of you_

_Every time you bleed for reaching greatness_

_Legends never die."_

("Legends never die" by Nightcore. You can find it on Youtube... just look for Monkey D Luffy and you'll know you have the right one!)

As the last note trailed off, both the villains and the teachers became aware of a blazing comet heading towards Noumu.

It slammed into him with all the force of a meteor, sending it crashing through several buildings.

"Tsuna?!" said Aizawa.

It was Tsuna alright, but he looked slightly different from before. Namely because his hands and forehead were on fire, and his eyes were blazing with a warm amber color. He was also _flying_, unaided.

His helmet had all sorts of aerial displays and from the 'new record' thing Eraserhead could see, it was clear Tsuna had gone up fairly high to build up momentum before he crashed into the villain.

"Yo Sensei. Mind if I handle this guy? You seem to have your hands full with these idiots."

"Rather busy right now... and what the hell is going on with the intercom system?!"

Tsuna smirked rather cockily.

"I had my tech support hook it up to my playlist. Oh, and reinforcements should be here in about twenty...no, make that thirty minutes," said Tsuna.

Eraserhead twitched.

"You mean to tell me you hijacked the intercoms...and turned them into your own personal stereo set?"

"I figured it would provide some ambiance and give the students a little incentive. After all, I did pick the one I based on Grandpa," shrugged Tsuna. He blinked as the display changed and grinned. "Seems my idea worked a lot better than I thought... quite a few of the others got pretty motivated to fight back and not give up."

"...I am so bitching to All Might about this later," complained Eraserhead.

Tsuna pounded his right hand into his left, and grinned.

"Time to let loose and finally have some fun!" he said cheerfully.

Tsuna had clearly been practicing with his flying abilities, because he was able to jet over to where Noumu was...and displayed some rather impressive martial arts skills.

Eraserhead had to sweat drop when Tsuna unleashed his flame clones, who proceeded to grab a massive beam nearby, lift it, and then use it like one would a golf club...it sent Noumu flying _well_ out of the area and it would likely take him some time to return if the portal guy didn't somehow retrieve him.

* * *

All Might was racing towards the rescue area, as villains had infiltrated the special outdoor class. The _same_ class that his grandson and apprentice were in.

So you could imagine _his_ surprise when he saw several minor villains getting their ass kicked by _his_ grandson, who was flying. He was suitably impressed, though he never expected Tsuna to be able to do something like that with his quirk.

It seemed his grandson was considerably more versatile with his abilities now that they were unleashed than he had anticipated. All he needed was a chance and a reason to use them.

Though he had to wonder at the music selection.

Seeing the unholy amusement his grandson had at fighting villains...to his credit he never used any lethal attacks, just those that would horribly maim or cause enough pain that getting up looked like a really, really bad idea, All Might had to chuckle a little.

"Really grandson, aren't you having a bit too much fun?" he said.

"You would want to vent on some poor unlucky targets of misplaced aggression too if you had your quirk sealed by two villains!" Tsuna shot back without pausing. "Besides, I'm only giving them a light maiming, not outright death!"

Fon chuckled at that.

"What level of damage have you done so far?"

Tsuna landed next to his absolute favorite teacher/Storm Guardian.

"Just enough that it makes them think twice about getting up for fear I'll escalate the damage level past light maiming. After all, what's the point of insuring a villain stays down if they don't suffer through enough pain that they regret crossing me?" said Tsuna innocently.

"...We are so stepping up your training. I see three villains about to get up from where we are now."

"Yeah, but those were Eraserhead's victims and kill-stealing is in rather poor taste. They were probably faking," admitted Tsuna.

All Might sweatdropped.

"You are a horrible influence on my grandson."

"Would you rather prefer I deliberately went into dangerous situations around villains just so I could legitimately claim self-defense when I kicked their ass until I ran into someone I couldn't simply beat up with superior martial arts?" asked Tsuna, tilting his head. "Because that was pretty much the only thing I had to look forward to once I graduated."

Fon looked at Tsuna oddly.

"Say what now?"

"Did you know the laws about fighting against Villains only cover quirks?" said Tsuna. "There's absolutely nothing in the books saying that civilians couldn't fight back against a villain through martial arts, as long as it's proven they didn't use a quirk to beat them. In fact there are very few laws regarding _quirkless_ people fighting back so long as they aren't trying to stir dissent against those with quirks, which is covered by discrimination. Since everyone thought I was quirkless, I could literally walk into a fight between a villian and hero, and so long as I was targeted directly by said villain there is nothing the Pro Heroes or the cops could do to me legally for 'defending' myself against the villain."

"...In short so long as you were only limited to martial arts, they couldn't arrest you and put you on probation," said Fon.

"People really underestimate those who don't have quirks," shrugged Tsuna. "Not my fault everyone focuses more on their unique talents and forget that people had other ways to defend themselves before Heroes became a thing."

All Might and Fon sweatdropped at that.


	6. Chapter 6

When Tsuna woke up, he both felt like crap and too comfortable to get up.

It was such a paradoxical feeling that he had to open his eyes.

And found himself staring face to face with a massive black panther with steel gray eyes. Under any other circumstance he might have been terrified, but he _knew_ those eyes.

He...honestly had no idea Kyouya could transform into actual cat.

Closer inspection revealed he wasn't alone in his room. He could see Takeshi, Shōichi, Spanner, and Fon nearby. They weren't hovering, but they were close enough that he could feel Homura radiating happiness at having his favorite people so close after that massive fight.

Hearing the light growl when he tried to move, Tsuna did the sensible thing. He pulled Kyouya into a cuddle and went back to sleep. He was too tired to think of anything else, and could care less how annoyed the older boy would be.

* * *

_With the teachers..._

Fon was likely the only one who was going to defend Tsuna's stunt during the attack.

The moment they got to Tsuna, he spoke up before All Might could even try.

"Before you decide to jump on the boy, perhaps I can provide some enlightenment about his actions? Out of everyone here, I spend the most time with him, particularly in training. As much as he respect you, Toshinori-san, the simple fact is that Tsuna honestly has zero idea how to respond to _family_ caring about him, which makes him highly disinclined to come to you for advice," said Fon.

Toshinori winced at the reminder of why he had to take in his grandson.

"You have some insight, Fon?" said the Principal.

"What you all seem to keep forgetting is that Tsuna has been seen as 'quirkless' for most of his life because of two villains. I still haven't gotten it out of him who they were and I know for a _fact_ he knows who's responsible. He has been ostracized and shunned by his peers and teachers, and even his own mother had given up on him until Toshinori found out about their existence and took him in. The entire reason he's so good at martial arts and will willingly agree to my rather harsh training regimen is because he is acutely aware of how helpless he was for years because his quirk was taken from him."

"Understandable, but that doesn't explain his reckless behavior."

"Doesn't it? He's showing the same reckless behavior young Midoriya has ever since All Might took him in as his apprentice. You keep forgetting that we are dealing with _teenagers_. Specifically two teenagers who have been helpless their entire lives through no fault of their own. Both of them have something to prove to those who belittled and treated them as helpless, if not to themselves. If you look at the video, Tsuna made a calculated risk when he took on that broken villain called 'Noumu'. He made very certain to inflict the most damage on the greatest threat, never allowing him to get a good grip on him, and afterwards made a point to stick close to Aizawa-san without ending up within range of the man's quirk."

"He shouldn't have to do that!" said Toshinori.

"Until recently, he's never had any adults in his life actually show concern or interest in him. He might not realize it, but he instinctively wants to impress the two authority figures in his life that have shown they give a damn about his well being and happiness. Normal teenagers don't suddenly decide to attempt rock climbing on a cliff with limited hand holds on a whim, you know. Especially when it would take days if not weeks to find him if something went wrong," said Fon flatly.

Toshinori winced.

"Of course it didn't help that the second he registered the threat, he went into Hyper Dying Will mode. It took me a bit to realize why he passed out the _second_ those villains retreated, since that helmet of his was covering it."

"Hyper what?" said Toshinori.

"It's a state where the body's natural limiters are temporarily turned off and they're put into a hyper-focused awareness. Only certain people can achieve it, and Tsuna is one of them. However if they're not trained to handle that amount of power it can easily kill them. It's rather similar to All for One, save for the awareness bit," said Fon. "Fortunately Tsuna's own training regimen and the fact his fire was forced to become sentient means that at most he'll spend a few days in bed. Using that particular state requires a great deal of stamina and physical conditioning, and Tsuna happens to be in decent enough shape that using it for limited amounts of time will cause him no harm."

"So you're saying we should let his behavior slide?" asked the Principal.

"I'm saying we give him a minor reprimand, and then up his training as a result. If he can handle that state for ten full minutes with minimal feedback, then he can handle an increased regimen. The same goes for young Midoriya, though if All Might wouldn't mind sparing him I would like to see if I can't fix his issue of breaking his body down every time he tries to use his quirk," said Fon. "Or at least toning down the damage it does to his body. At this rate he's going to kill himself before any villain has the chance to."

Toshinori winced.

"Perhaps my mentoring could use some work..." he admitted.

"Just remember, Tsuna is still unused to his family caring about his well being. A light reprimand about his recklessness is acceptable, but make it clear that you're proud that he was able to keep his fellow students safe from that 'creature' he took out with the first hit."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Toshinori, before his mind caught up to something Fon said earlier. "You said Tsuna knows who put that seal on him."

"The reaction I got every time the subject was brought up makes me believe he remembers who did it, or has a very strong idea who is responsible. However he's been trying very hard to pretend he's fine with his situation for so long that he might lash out if the culprits are in front of him. After all, they did effectively destroy his childhood for no good reason," said Fon darkly. "Well, either he remembers who it was, or Homura does. Considering his 'Homura' is actually a strong representation of his subconscious, it's likely that part of him is the one who actually remembers, since it happened so long ago."

Though Fon had a sneaking suspicion who _one_ of the culprits were at least.

* * *

Tsuna fully expected a stern reprimand from his grandfather. Though he honestly didn't see what he did wrong. After all, his classmates were in danger and those villains made it clear they were after All Might. Any student deaths they would have happily written off as collateral damage.

After waking up in the odd cuddle pile with his friends, he actually felt way better than normal. Just being around all of them, even if Fon had to leave for the meeting, made him feel safe. Cherished.

Compared to the sheer isolation he had to deal with before, it was a feeling he desperately wanted to cling to.

So you could imagine his surprise when his grandpa firmly pinched his cheek.

"What you did was reckless, foolhardy, and could have gotten you killed."

Tsuna looked down, though the stinging of his cheek still hurt a bit.

"But...you were able to keep the more dangerous villains from getting near your less experienced classmates. Because of you, that big thug was taken out before it could do any real damage. So you did well. Even if you nearly gave me a heart attack when you collapsed like that."

Tsuna stared at his grandfather, who was in his "All Might" form.

"What?" he said in shock.

"I'm proud that you didn't try to take on that big villain head on, especially after we discovered the number of enhancements done to him. That being said, I wish you would at least consider the amount of worry I had to deal with seeing you collapse like that after such a big fight. We were so busy trying to insure the students were safe that it took me almost two hours before I could find out whether you were alright. I was worried I almost lost you for being reckless."

"You... you're proud of me?" said Tsuna, as if the concept of his family being proud of him was a foreign concept.

All Might had to hold back a wince. Fon was right in that the main reason Tsuna had acted so recklessly was because his self worth had all but been destroyed. He honestly didn't think his own safety and well being was worth considering, because he was so used to the people around him being dismissive of his existence in the first place.

He considered himself fortunate Fon had spoken to him before he went to have a talk with his grandson. He might have botched things entirely and made it worse.

"That being said, Fon has mentioned something about increasing your training once you're back on your feet. He may have said something along the lines of 'If he is going to take on the major villains, then he's going to have the training and experience to back it up'," said All Might.

However he could see the effect the talk was having on his grandson. Tsuna was so used to doing his own thing without reprisal from the adults in his life that it never entered his mind that he had people who _cared_ about him.

Likely why Fon had immediately called in Tsuna's close friends for an impromptu sleepover. Toshinori had noticed the way Tsuna's body had relaxed completely the moment young Kyouya curled into him in cat form. It had sped up his recovery quite a bit.

Tsuna surprised his grandfather by hugging him. After the childhood he had, the boy wasn't very tactile except with certain people, and so far had been rather closed off from him.

Only Kyouya had managed to break through that particular barrier and only when his feline features were out. He almost wanted to say Tsuna treated Kyouya like a pet...except it would be far more accurate to claim that Kyouya had apparently deemed Tsuna worthy of allowing his feline instincts out without trying to beat him up for it.

"You know, Fon _did_ give me something to punish you with, since you were acting recklessly," said All Might with a grin.

Tsuna looked up at him, and All Might had to wonder how the dragon had known this would suit his grandson so perfectly.

Tsuna felt something placed on his head, and it was only when he got a good look at himself in the mirror that he found out what it was. He squawked in surprise.

"_Bunny ears?!"_

"Your official punishment for jumping into the fray like you did is to wear these for the next week. At least until the sports festival," said All Might. "Or would you rather I announce you as my grandson and have you wear a t-shirt with our pictures on it?"

Tsuna shuddered.

"I'll take the ears," he said. "Though I wouldn't mind letting people know you're my grandfather, the shirt is a bit much."

"That's why wearing it would be punishment," chuckled All Might.

Tsuna had proven himself capable of handling the weaker enemies that would target him for being his grandson. And letting the world know about the fact he had one would do a lot to ease the fears of the people, considering that the school had been attacked _twice_ now.

The Principal had been the one to suggest the idea, and the fact Fon hadn't shot it down said volumes.

It was a PR move that had the rather pleasant side effect of teaching all the fools who tormented his grandson in Namimori a lesson, without Tsuna having to lift a finger.

He knew for a fact Kyouya was going to make watching the Sports Festival mandatory this year, to prove Tsuna did have a quirk but had been targeted by villains when he was a child.

All Might _wanted_ Tsuna to be able to walk in Namimori with pride and know that people understood how wrong they had been about him from the very start. It was a far more satisfying revenge than simply beating up everyone who had tormented him for years.

"So young Tsuna agreed to let us announce his heritage?" said the Principal.

"Considering the recent incidents, announcing the existence of my grandson would bring a lot of hope to the people...and would double as a quiet revenge for him since I know Kyouya will make watching the sports festival mandatory for Namimori," said Toshinori. "He managed to beat that Noumu creature, which is leagues above most of the mid-tier villains from what we found."

"I think the best way to do this is to have him represent Class 1-A. No one would believe his claim unless _you're_ the one who announces it, complete with DNA evidence for the reporters," said the Principal.

More than a few people had claimed to be related to All Might, usually to take advantage of his fame or have something to hold against the number one Hero.

None ever had DNA backed evidence _or_ All Might's word that the person in question was related to him.

Knowing the man had a living legacy would go a long way to ease people's fears.


	7. Chapter 7

Tsuna was nervous and who could blame him? All Might was making a 'special apperance' to announce the fact he had a grandson, and he had spent most of his life in the shadows trying not to be noticed while hating his situation.

And now he was about to be announced to the world!

About the only good side was that he was permitted to go all out with his Quirk and martial arts, provided no death occurred. And to insure a good showing, the son of the Number Two hero was guaranteed to have a fight with All Might's grandson, provided they managed to get to the round robin stage.

Tsuna...had an ace up his sleeve that he hadn't told anyone yet and wanted to surprise people with. It had certainly startled Fon when he used it against Kyouya by accident after the Cloud nearly caved Tsuna's head in while his flames were out.

Tsuna's hands had slipped into an odd sign, before _ice_ came out and turned Kyouya into an ice block.

It had taken them an hour to unfreeze Kyouya and he was _not_ happy.

As such Fon decided to put Tsuna through some extra training to create weapons out of his flames...and to a lesser extent his ice.

Considering he had heard something of a similar nature happening to someone he knew, or their Boss at least, Fon had a sneaking suspicion this was part of his inheritance from the Vongola.

(Fon knew the second he mentioned Iemitsu's name and Tsuna's flames turned decidedly volcanic that his suspicions on who had put that seal on the boy's Quirk were true. Which begged the question who the other culprit was.)

Fortunately the Principal had agreed to announce everything _after_ the sports festival was over, when they were handing out medals. It was unfair to put a ton of pressure on Tsuna right before the festivities began since he had agreed to let the fact he was All Might's grandson be known. Besides, All Might was planning to do the award ceremony anyway and with luck Tsuna might get awarded first prize.

Having that as a goal was motivation enough.

Right off the bat he had to grin...an obstacle course was just his style, since he had taken up parkour at Fon's suggestion. Best of all UA had a course set up for the upper years that he was allowed to play on so long as he signed up for it.

Tsuna grinned the second he saw it, and the moment the buzzer went off he left a cloud of dust in his wake.

Sure, Todoroki froze the robots, but Tsuna was able to put his acrobactic skills to good use and jumped over them.

"This is too fun!" he laughed.

Seeing the rope bridges, his grin widened even further. The gap wasn't too wide, and with a little help from his quirk he could easily jump it.

Besides, he was supposed to show off anyway.

"_And it seems young Tsunayoshi is _dancing_ his way through the course! We might have a real contender for first place here folks!"_

"IT'S TSUNA!" he shouted with annoyance. He hated being reminded of his full name.

Seeing the mine field, his sharp eyes were able to pick out where the explosives were as he made his way past them with ease. Honestly, the ninja training (which Spanner somehow convinced Fon to give them) was way harder.

He was not expecting Izuku to beat him to first place, but there were still two more trials ahead.

"Well played!" said Tsuna.

"You too!" said Izuku, breathing heavily. He had used his wits to get this far, so very few knew what his quirk was.

"Yo, Tsuna! Looks like we made it," said Spanner lazily.

"Barely," said Shōichi tiredly.

Tsuna took one look at them and an evil grin formed.

"Say guys, how would you like to put the support class first for a change?"

"We're listening," grinned Spanner.

"Here's what we'll do..." said Tsuna.

Spanner's quirk was that he could control robots, including full-scale body armor. Only the lighter ones were allowed at the sport's festival. Shōichi had a quirk that allowed him to find the most efficient way of combining technology to make something new...and had an unofficial side effect of allowing him to see radio waves.

It was how Tsuna had managed to get through to them even when the signal was blocked at USJ. The headphones connected to a specific radio wave that Shōichi had developed that only those who could see radio waves could detect.

Spanner and Shōichi would be wearing the robot armor, while Tsuna would be the rider.

The second Tsuna found out that the rider _could_ detach from the human horse, an evil grin formed.

"So we're not allowed to touch the ground? Boys, I have an idea," said Tsuna.

"_Have fun," _said Spanner with amusement.

Tsuna used the robot armor as a springboard, and proceeded to steal headbands left and right. He left Izuku alone since everyone was going to be gunning for him anyway, thus leaving the attackers wide open.

With how agile he was in the air, it was almost impossible to grab him.

He earned over a thousand points in less than a minute.

"That's cheating!" complained Bakugou.

"Not my fault none of you bothered to train outside your quirks!" cackled Tsuna. "Besides, you did it first!"

"New plan, we go after that jerk's headband first!"

Seeing the cellophane tape on his leg attempting to pull him down, Tsuna grinned evilly.

Time to show off something he had been practicing ever since Fon told him it was not only possible, but a common trait to those with Sky flames.

"He's... he's _flying_? That is so not fair!"

Even with the tape on his leg, Tsuna was flying in midair well above the ground. Without a second thought, he flew back to where his teammates were and landed...however the idiot with the tape couldn't detach quickly enough, throwing his rider onto the ground and resulting in disqualification.

"_Tsuna, stay in the air so we keep the points you just got!"_ said Shōichi.

"You sure, Sho-chan?" asked Tsuna.

"_You kidding? They just said it was legal for you to fly so long as you don't touch the ground. Sounds like an easy win to me,"_ drawled Spanner.

Tsuna took off again, this time staying roughly six feet off the ground and moving past anyone who attempted to grab the headbands he had on.

By the time the buzzer went off, only a few teams remained.

However what pissed Bakugou off was the fact that because of Tsuna, he wouldn't make it into the third round.

"You bastard... You cheated!"

"The only rules made by the judges was that we had to stay off the ground. In this competition anything goes!" said Tsuna firmly. "Besides, it's your own fault...if you hadn't jumped off your 'horse' first and revealed that it was legal, I wouldn't have tried using my secondary ability to disqualify you."

Bakugou was absolutely furious, because now he wouldn't be able to fight for the top spot. Meanwhile Izuku and the others would be moving on to the next round without him.

Tsuna was both nervous and beyond proud. He had not only made it to the finals and fought against Todoroki, but he had managed to _win_.

Best of all, Kyouya had assured him everyone in Namimori, especially his old tormentors and neighbors had seen him fighting in the tournament and winning. The child they had dismissed as "no good, useless" Tsuna, had managed to beat the son of Endeavor. He had won first place in the UA sports festival, which was beyond difficult...especially considering he only recently had his quirk unsealed.

Tsuna blushed with pride as his grandfather walked up to the stage to hand out the medals...and proudly congratulated his grandson on making it this far.

* * *

The teen made a point to avoid human contact for a week after the sports festival, since All Might had released the DNA results to the public revealing he wasn't making up his claim that Tsuna was directly related to him.

Everyone wanted to see the grandson of All Might, for multiple reasons. Tsuna just wanted to avoid it all, since he wasn't really used to the attention. To be fair, he had spent most of his life being treated as second-class because a villain had sealed his true self.

It was a relief when they finally had a chance to come up with their hero names. Tsuna had thought long and hard for years on what he would call himself if he ever had a chance, so there was no hesitation when he was asked.

"I want to be known as Flameheart," he said calmly, though there was a hint of embarassed pride in his features. "Because I want to light the flames of hope in everyone else, especially those that society looks down upon for not having a quirk."

He could tell his words touched Izuku, and he knew perfectly well why. Out of the entire class, only they had suffered the indignity and pain of being 'quirkless'.

Tsuna had to hold back his anger when he saw the name of a certain group among the nominations.

He had looked into the group his father belonged to a long time ago, hoping that maybe he could earn a job there. However he was quickly dissuaded from that course after learning even a fraction about it.

Iemitsu ran the "CEDEF" as his personal playground, and they only accepted people with 'flashy' and often useless quirks. For a group that was supposed to be an intelligence office, it was a complete joke.

That coupled with the fact he _knew_ Iemitsu was the reason for everyone believing he was quirkless for so long was enough to keep him from ever considering it.

So he was rather surprised when Fon suggested a different 'hero' to train under.

"Who is the Great Skull-sama?" asked Tsuna.

"He's a...friend... of mine that does stunt work for a living. Considering your interests, he would be an excellent match as he knows all sorts of ways to take a fall and use your environment to get around without overtly flying everywhere. Unfortunately not a lot of people appreciate what he can do, so no one ever picks him for training."

"I'm half-tempted to go to CEDEF, if only to beat the living shit out of my father," admitted Tsuna.

"As tempting as that idea is, wait till summer vacation. That way not only can I join you, but so can your grandfather and your elements," said Fon without hesitation.

Tsuna perked up at that.

"So, where do I find the great Skull-sama and do you think he'd be interested?"

"Trust me, if he knows I sent you his way he'd be interested... besides, he's a die hard fan of All Might," chuckled Fon amused.

Skull was vastly underappreciated, despite being a Pro Hero with a quirk that revolved around increasing his muscle strength... as well as temporary increasing the size of his animal partner Oodako. He wasn't very good at being a Pro Hero and fighting villains, but he did a lot of promotional work as a stunt man in commercials and action movies.

Not only would he be good for Tsuna, since they both loved parkour, but he might be able to help the teen get over his natural aversion to large crowds and 'adoring' fans who wouldn't have given him a second glance when he had been quirkless.

Tsuna was convinced. Anyone Fon recommended had to be better than the sycophants who just wanted to get their hands on All Might's grandson.

"Coincidentally Skull is doing a promotional piece in Namimori this month," said Fon with a straight face.

"...Do you really want me to burn that town to the ground?" asked Tsuna seriously.

"Think of it as a test of self-restraint. For every idiot you don't horribly maim in a way that can't be traced back to you, we'll work on a new advanced martial arts skill," said Fon with a straight face.

"...So it's okay if I rip their ego and self-confidence to shreds?" he asked hopefully.

"So long as the press and your grandfather don't catch wind, do you really think I would care?"

Tsuna's smile was not nice...it was full of teeth and dark promise. He had waited for _years_ to unleash his full thoughts on the people who were so quick to mock him for not having a quirk and he had plenty of ways to rip them to shreds without laying a single finger on them.

Being deliberately isolated and treated worthless by everyone around him had given him plenty of reason to have a _very_ sharp tongue and a much bigger vocabulary to work from.

* * *

Tsuna took _one_ look at the scruffy face in his former home, already drunk off his ass, and didn't hesitate for a second.

He was already moving the moment his mind processed the fact his 'father' had the bad luck to be visiting before he went to meet Skull for his training.

The older Hero was still in shock that All Might's grandson had picked _him_, much less that Fon had been the one to suggest the idea.

"Tsu-kun!" scolded Nana, as Tsuna sent Iemitsu flying into the liquor cabinet, destroying the contents.

"I originally came to see how you were doing, but if this _filth_ is visiting then I'll stick to a hotel," said Tsuna, his voice full of ice and disgust.

"Tuna-fishy! Is that any way to speak to your papa?" said Iemitsu. His voice sounded full of 'hurt', but his eyes said differently.

"I don't associate with villains who hide behind the Anti-Hero League. Come near me again and I will not hesitate to demand a full restraining order," said Tsuna scathingly.

He slammed the door, before jogging straight to the agreed meeting area. He was half an hour early, but anything had to be better than being in that man's presence for even a second longer.

To be honest, he had only visited his old home because of the lingering loyalty he had to his mother. But if she sided with that man, he would cut all ties he had with her. It might hurt briefly, but she had given up on him long before he had left.

"What happened to my Tuna-fishy?" said Iemitsu unhappily. He would have thought his son would be happy to see him.

"He might be going through a phase," said Nana. "He _is_ a teenager after all."

Though to be honest, Nana didn't believe that for a second. She harbored some anger towards her husband for leaving them alone for all these years, only to show up after her son's surprising debut as a potential Pro Hero.


	8. Chapter 8

Skull was an exciteable person, but he got over the shock of having Tsuna under his wing very quickly and got down to business.

Skull couldn't teach anything combat-related to Tsuna...besides, he was learning just fine under Fon. He didn't have any 'marketable' skills as a Pro Hero since he preferred stunt work and he only got his license because it opened up a lot more work for him. He wasn't particularly brave, smart or good at normal hero work.

What he could do was act, and he knew the ins and outs of most machines he came across so long as they weren't too advanced and had an engine. He knew how to put on a mask and pretend everything was fine even when his own life was going to hell, and how to fake it like a pro. More importantly he was an avid fan of parkour and insane stunts, which was something Tsuna was rather happy with.

Sure, Skull wasn't the most 'marketable' hero, but he suited Tsuna far better than someone like his grandfather would have. Tsuna would rather be the quiet hero that comes in when the chips were down and helped to turn things around rather than be in the spotlight all the time like All Might.

He could leave that sort of thing to Deku.

_A few days in..._

Tsuna should have been in a good mood. Training with Skull was _awesome_, and he was quickly falling in love with driving motorcycles. Sure, having to act was rather annoying, but it was doable if only because he could put to use a lot of the skills he had picked up by necessity to hide what he was really feeling towards the idiots he had to deal with on a daily basis.

Skull hid his true self behind the guise of a braggart who wanted all the attention on him.

Tsuna chose to go a different route. While he was perfectly friendly to others, he always kept a disinterested and apathetic persona on the outside. Mostly to hide his rather large sarcastic streak, since he pretty much hated everyone and only a select few got to see his "nice" side in the first place.

Wearing his headphones helped a lot...it meant he could ignore people under the guise of listening to music, while in reality he was listening to _everything_ going on around him for roughly a hundred and fifty feet.

The thing that pissed him off the most was the fact Iemitsu would _not_ take a freaking hint and go away. He apparently believed the fact that Tsuna was studying to become a Pro Hero and had been outed as All Might's grandson was an excuse to harass his "son" into joining the group he was part of after graduation.

Honestly, the idea of working with that man made Tsuna's skin absolutely crawl. It was as if the past decade didn't actually matter now that Tsuna had some "worth" in the eyes of society and his "father" was simply trying to snatch him up first to show off like a prized bird or something.

Tsuna had not been joking about the restraining order. After the third time he "accidentally" ran into his genetic donor Skull took him to his personal lawyer to have the order filed. It was done in less than two days, since it was blatantly obvious Iemitsu was only bothering his son because he had become "famous".

The fact that All Might wanted to have a "word" with the man in private regarding the fact that he had sealed his grandson and basically abandoned his daughter to act as a single parent was even more damning.

That being said, Tsuna was enjoying _every_ second he had training with Skull.

So you could imagine his confusion when Skull presented him with an old guitar of all things. Not an electric one, but one made of wood that had seen a few users and would-be musicians over the years.

"What's this?"

"Your always listening to your tunes, or pretending to and everyone needs a hobby that lets them relax and unwind. So why not try to make your own music?" said Skull sensibly. "I mean I usually watch old movies, the cheesier the better."

"So that's why you have such a massive old-school Godzilla doll in your trailer."

"Gojira is the _King_, thank you very much. Not even that ass Reborn can top him. But I figured it would be an interesting project you can play around with during your downtime, since you mentioned you were already really good at playing with music programs on the computer."

"That was out of necessity, and it helped to bond with Shōichi. I suppose it couldn't hurt though..." mused Tsuna.

Later that night, when he took out the guitar Skull had given him and began to jam on it, he found himself lost in the music. It had a strange calming effect on him.

* * *

"So we're going to Hosu?" asked Tsuna.

"The guy in charge of the 'public' hero groups that do minor police work wants to see what we can do to raise moral after the Hero Killer took Ingenium out."

Tsuna snorted.

"Doesn't surprise me. People hand out titles like 'hero' like candy these days. It used to actually _mean_ something before quirks became the norm. Now people think that their quirks are all they'll ever need without having to actually work for it, and rarely bother to reach any real heights like grandpa."

Skull was silent. He might be a Pro Hero, but in reality he was anything but. He privately agreed with Tsuna's disdain-filled comment.

"What would you rather be? I mean you are on the Pro Hero track like your grandpa."

Tsuna's eyes gleamed.

"I don't want to be known as a 'hero'. That title is thrown about far too casually these days and is more of a job description. If I have to make a living as a 'hero', then I don't want to settle for 'good enough'. I want to be a legend famous enough that people will remember me long after I'm dead and anyone who would be able to say they knew me personally is long gone too," said Tsuna.

Skull blinked, before a wide grin filled his face.

"Now _that's_ the proper attitude to have! If you're going to be a hero, then be one that _everyone_ remembers even when you're no longer around to remind them that you exist! Everyone is far too happy with the way things are and never challenge themselves anymore!" said Skull with approval. "I mean hell, who's going to say they remember who All Might was like a hundred years from now? He's famous now, but once he's gone and everyone who remembered him are dead and buried..."

"Exactly! What happened to the days of old when actual _legends_ were made? Stories that inspired you and made you believe in things greater than you, like Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, or Herakles?"

"Or Godzilla?" said Skull impishly.

Tsuna nodded in full agreement, grinning. He looked far more animated on the subject than Skull had seen him for the past three days.

"So is it true you hijacked the USJ to play your music and accidentally inspired the rest of the baby heroes to fight back?"

"Want to hear the CD? It has the song on it," said Tsuna.

"Sure!" said Skull grinning.

The two were happily jamming on the way to the city. Skull had a very similar taste in music and they were debating on different songs and genres the entire ride.

You could imagine their horrified shock at seeing the city under attack.

Tsuna looked at the text he got from Deku...he had the worst feeling his friend had found the Hero Killer, or had gone searching for Iida. He had the feeling it was more the latter, with the former being an unhappy coincidence.

"Skull, do you want to help the other pro heroes, or come with me to help a friend? I have a horrible feeling Deku found the hero killer."

"I'm not much of a fighter though," said Skull, shivering.

"I don't expect you to. But I bet you know basic first aid and know how to keep your head down and get those incapacitated out of the line of fire so that others don't have to worry about accidentally hitting any ally," said Tsuna calmly.

Skull perked up.

"Now _that_ is something I can do!" said Skull grinning. "Count me in!"

"Besides, this way if anything happens we can claim we were backing _you_ up," said Tsuna sheepishly.

Skull snickered.

The two of them made their way to the alley Deku had texted them about, and found things were somewhat dire. No only was Deku paralyzed, but so were Iida and Todoroki and the pro hero that the Hero Killer had been targetting before Iida showed up.

Skull was terrified, but he remembered what Tsuna...or rather Flameheart said. He wasn't expecting the stuntman to fight. He wanted the purple haired hero to get the invalids out so that they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.

* * *

"Tsuna? What are you doing here? It thought you were in your hometown?"

"Skull was asked to do a TV promo to try and raise moral after this guy showed up and took out Ingenium. We came in time for the Noumu to show up," said Tsuna. "That being said...I can kinda understand where the Hero Killer is coming from."

Dead silence.

"Tsuna, you didn't hit your head recently, did you?" asked Todoroki.

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

"Every time this guy shows up, the heroes finally get up off their asses and actually try to better themselves for as long as the reminder is present, rather than sit on their asses all day and rest on their laurels. Crime takes a massive drop across the board and suddenly they're reminded that there are villains all too happy to take them out. The title 'hero' is used far too often these days to the point it's completely lost it's actual meaning."

The 'heroes' all stared at him in shock...but deep inside, something stirred in junior heroes hearts. Especially Deku.

"That being said, I don't appreciate the fact that villains go out of their way to target innocent people who have nothing to do with their attempts to stir up anarchy and chaos, save for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was absolutely no point of letting all those Noumu go to attack people," said Tsuna flatly.

"...I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I didn't let any of these...Noumu...loose," said the Hero Killer calmly. "And I only target heroes."

"Considering you were in another area of Japan entirely when the first one showed up, I believe you," admitted Tsuna. "That being said, I'm not going to let you kill anyone here. If anyone gets to pound Deku's face in, it's going to be me in training."

"Hey!" shouted Deku.

"Oh come on, you don't practice your martial arts skills nearly enough and you're lucky Hibari doesn't feel like making your hero name 'chew toy'. You really need to learn how to fight without using your quirk, because your lack of control with it is only going to bite you in the ass," deadpanned Tsuna. Deku pouted.

"Heh...HAHAHAHAHA! I like you brat! You have good eyes on you! You have a better idea of what a hero should be, compared to these wet behind the ears brats!" cackled the Hero Killer.

"I should hope so. After all, I realized a long time ago that weakness only remains that way if you let it. Nothing motivates someone better than the desire to spite those that claim you're never going to amount to anything because society thinks you're worthless without a quirk," said Tsuna, his smile all teeth. "That being said, I refuse to hide behind my grandpa's name when I could be going out and making one of my own. Forget pro hero, I want to be a _legend_ no one forgets and reminds people what the term _hero_ actually means."

Tsuna punched his right fist into his left had with a gleam in his eyes. It was clear he meant every word.

"Oh? And which pathetic hero is your grandfather supposed to be?" asked the Hero Killer, as calm as could be.

Tsuna's grin was wicked.

"All Might. Deku might be his protege, but I'm the grandson he never knew about until recently," he replied.

The wicked gleam in the Hero Killer's eyes grew bigger.

"That being said... Homura, you cover for Skull while I play with this guy okay?"

Tsuna's flame clone made an "Ok" sign with his hand, and went to cover Deku and the others while Skull got the invalids out of the way.

"Not going to fight with your quirk?"

"Why would I bother fighting with Homura when he can be more useful acting as a protective measure against you?" said Tsuna cheekily. "After all... I don't _need_ him to fight."

That was the only warning Tsuna gave...before he _moved_.

Deku had to stare in disbelief. He had never seen Tsuna move so fast. It took him a moment to realize he was able to move his body again. Was there a time limit to the Hero Killer's quirk?

There was the sound of something _heavy_ crashing into the Hero Killer before it fell to the ground and made a decent crater in the ground, and Tsuna became so much faster.

"What the hell? What did Tsuna just remove from his arm?" asked Todoroki in disbelief.

"...I think those are weights, but why would he be wearing them?" said Iida.

"Can you think of a better way to do strength training without having to hit the gym all the time?" Tsuna cheerfully called out.

There was a reason he had meshed with Kyouya so quickly, and it wasn't because he knew how to attack the older boy's feline features in a way that made him a puddle of goo.

Tsuna was just as much a battle maniac as Kyouya, he just didn't bother with attacking people at random unless he found a strong opponent he could _really _let loose with.

The wild grin on his face said far too much about how much he enjoyed the thrill of battle, and how his blood was absolutely pumping from the cat and mouse game he was playing with the Hero Killer.

"Keh... How... are you so strong?" asked the Hero Killer.

Everyone looked to Tsuna for an answer.

"It's in the blood, I guess," said Tsuna flippantly.

"Really?" said Iida.

"Gods no! I took that little voice everyone has in the back of their head that tells you to be tactful and understanding to idiots and sheep...and I shot it. I shot it in the god's-damned face until that bastard died and then used pure spite to motivate me into becoming stronger so that when I got a real chance, I could show them how little I cared about their opinions. After all, if there's one thing I learned, it's that tigers should not concern themselves with the opinion of sheep," said Tsuna flatly.

Complete silence...then the Hero Killer started laughing, long and hard and with an unhinged quality.

"That is how a proper hero _should_ be!" he said with glee and no little appreciation.

"...Isn't that an indirect quote from _SAO Abridged_?" asked Deku.

"Let's just say I sympathize rather strongly with that version of Kirito than I did the original," said Tsuna.

"Are you going to flip out and start randomly killing things the same way he did whenever that one NPC was mentioned?" asked Deku, almost joking.

"That depends Sachi... are you going to let your lag allow you to bring the group down?" said Tsuna smirking. "Just remember not to set the NPC's to autoloot, otherwise we'll all be sprinting to our deaths a record speed."

"You jerk! I am _not_ Sachi!" said Deku scowling.

"I am completely lost," said Todoroki. Iida nodded. Skull...looked like he was having trouble not laughing as he caught most of the reference.


End file.
